If you aren’t one of those folks that stock piles knick knacks so they always have something on hand, you will probably need to throw together a last minute gift.

I am not particularly crafty, but I have, over the years, learned how to put together something at the last minute.

Below I’ve compiled the Top 5 DIY Last Minute Gifts - some of which I’ve done myself and others are ideas picked up along the way.

Top 5 DIY Last Minute Gifts

The list below is a compilation of some of the Best DIY Gifts you can get for that special someone, guaranteed to make their eyes pop wide open with joy when they unwrap it on Christmas or ANY day!!

Little Giant Ladder System

The Little Giant Ladder may be a higher priced ladder, but any Do-it-Yourself person who spends just 10 minutes reading reviews or talking to others who own one, you will not waste another minute before buying one!

Dewalt 18 Volt XRP Cordless Combo Kit

Every handyman or woman needs a cordless combo kit in their tool arsenal! The Dewalt 18 Volt XRP series combo kits deliver results above and beyond what you expect in one of these packages!

Wagner Spray Tech Paint Crew

Painting your home is pain, lets face it! If you are one of those who wants to paint their own home but is afraid to get overwhelmed with brushes, rollers and every other manual way of painting, the Wagner Spray Tech system is the way to go! You can spend thousands of dollars to hire someone… or just a couple hundred, and do it yourself! Perfect for DIY homeowners and small contractors alike!

Cricut Expressions

For the Crafter in your home, Cricut delivers the ease and versatility of all die-cutting systems without all the dies or even a PC. The Cricut Expression system is an all in one cutting machine for the Do it Youselfer that uses a cartridge-based setup to provide thousands of pattern options! You choose the size and shape, put in your paper and hit one single button. The Cricut takes over from there! Take it with you anywhere, with its comfortable and sturdy carrying handle.

If you have a crafter in your home, this is the one machine everyone is buying!

Weber Portable Tailgater Grill

ANY Tailgater knows, your pregame party is only as good as your grill! Weber truly came through on this Portable Grill for Tailgaters, by delivering a medium sized cooking surface, fueled by propane gas!

Set the Tailgater grill onto your tailgate or on a small box, fire it up, and within minutes… this DIY Tailgater gift is working on your chicken, steaks, burgers, or whatever special party recipe you bring to the big game!

Web Design Software from Adobe

Ask any Website Developer what makes their job the easiest, and chances are pretty good… you will hear a common theme of the Adobe CS3 Dreamweaver suite being used! The full suite of tools is not a cheap buy for sure, but after you build just one site… it will pay for itself in the time saved during the development as well as the time saved for updating the site in the future!

Adobe CS3 makes the Perfect DIY Website Developer Gift!

Mechanics Hand Tool Kit

If you have a backyard do it yourself mechanic in the house, he or she can never have too many tools! Craftsman has proven they will not only stand the test of time with high quality, but they carry a lifetime warranty and will replace ANY tool that breaks for ANY reason!

Simply put, your DIY mechanic cannot go wrong with a set of Craftsman hand tools!

Gourmet Coffee Expresso Kit

Gourmet Coffee is not new for sure, but making it at home is just now catching on! One of our recent articles on Using a French Press Pot has received thousands of readers in less than 45 days, which means it is coming to the masses!

For a friend or the coffee lover in your home, getting them a Gourmet Coffee Machine Gift is always the right choice!

Canon EOS Rebel Digital Camera Kit

For the DIY Photographer in your home, the Canon XSi 450D is by far, the most popular digital camera on the market! From the changeable lenses to the one of the most dynamic pixel ranges available today, you will be cherished forever by getting this gift for the do it yourself photographer!

This list was originally started as a top 10 list, but I only included 9! I will be picking one from the comments below and posting it as #10 on the list!

Texas Cornbread Dressing Ingredients

• 2 c Yellow cornmeal 3 c Chopped onion
• 2 c Flour 3 c Chopped celery
• 1/2 c Sugar 1 cn Green chilies
• 2 tb Baking powder 2 tb Minced garlic
• 1 ts Salt 1 cn Green chilies
• 2 c Milk 2 tb Minced garlic
• 4 Eggs 2 tb Chili powder
• 1/2 c Vegetable oil 4 ts Ground cumin
• 4 tb Butter 1 c Chopped walnuts
• 1 lb Sweet Italian sausages 2 c Chicken broth

Instructions for Texas Cornbread Dressing

Combine all ingredients in order. Blend well and pour into 9×13 inch baking dish that is greased well. Bake at 400 degrees until done, about 25 minutes. Cool. (This can be done a day ahead.) Cut cornbread into cubes. Spread on baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside. Remove casings from sausage and crumble. Melt butter in large skillet. Add sausage and saute until brown. Add onions, celery, jalapeno and garlic. Saute about 5 minutes. Stir in chili powder and cumin. Saute about 2 minutes more. Stir in nuts. Season with salt and pepper. Mix into cornbread. Stir in broth to moisten. Transfer to greased baking dish. Cover with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake 25 minutes longer. Yield: 10 servings

Chestnut Turkey Stuffing

• 2 cups chestnuts
• 1 1/2 cups margarine
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
• 2 (1 pound) loaves day-old bread, cubed
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk

Directions for Chestnut Dressing

With a sharp knife, cut slits in the surface of the chestnuts. Place chestnuts in a medium saucepan with enough water to cover, and bring to a boil. Cook 25 minutes, or until tender. Drain, peel, and chop.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Melt margarine in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in chestnuts, onion, salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning, and cook until onions are tender, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a medium baking dish, and mix with the cubed bread.

In a small bowl, beat together eggs and milk, and drizzle over the cubed bread mixture.
Bake 30 to 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until surface is crisp and lightly browned.

Garlic, Onion, and Sage Stuffing Recipe

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 2 small onions, finely chopped
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 5 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 14-ounce bag cubed herbed stuffing mix
• 1-1/2 Tablespoons rubbed or ground dried sage
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 2 eggs, beaten to blend
• 1 cup chicken stock or canned broth

Preparation

Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add onions, celery, and garlic and saute until soft, about 8 minutes. Combine stuffing mixture, sage, salt, oregano, thyme, pepper, and Italian seasoning in large bowl. Stir in onion mixture and eggs. Add stock and mix well. Fill main cavity and neck cavity loosely with stuffing. Place any remaining stuffing in small buttered baking dish and cover with foil.

Southern Cornbread Dressing

• 1 (16 ounce) package dry corn bread mix
• 1 (1 pound) loaf day-old white bread, torn into small pieces
• 4 tablespoons margarine
• 1/2 cup chopped onions
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 6 eggs
• 4 cups Chicken/Turkey broth

Directions for Southern Cornbread Dressing

Prepare an 8×8 inch pan of cornbread according to package directions. Crumble the corn bread into a large bowl. Mix in the white bread.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the margarine and stir in the onions. Slowly cook, stirring occasionally, until tender.

Stir the onions into the bread mixture. Mix in the chicken, 4 cups reserved broth, cream of chicken soup, garlic powder, poultry seasoning, pepper and eggs. Blend with a potato masher until the mixture is the consistency of gelatin. Use more of the reserved broth as necessary to attain desired consistency. Transfer to a 9×13 inch baking dish.

Bake in the preheated oven 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Bread Crumb Turkey Stuffing

• 1 1/2 oz butter
• 6 scallions, chopped
• 1 large garlic clove, crushed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated finely
• 4 cups fresh white breadcrumbs
• 2 tablespoons cilantro, freshly chopped
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

Preparation

Melt butter in skillet, add scallions, garlic and ginger. Stir fry for about 4 minutes or until soft. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Add the breadcrumbs, cilantro and egg and stir until well mixed. Spoon mixture into bird and cook according to directions.

Midwest Sausage and Dried Cherry Turkey Stuffing

• 6 cups country style white bread, cubed and toasted
• 1 pound bulk pork sausage
• 1 stick of butter
• 2 chopped onions
• 4 ribs of chopped celery
• 2 1/2 tablespoons of crumbled sage leaves
• 1 1/2 teaspoons crumbled thyme leaves
• 1 cup dried cherries (purchase them dried)
• 1 cup toasted and chopped walnuts
• 1 cup of chicken stock (canned)
• salt and pepper (to taste)

Directions for Midwest Sausage and Cherry Stuffing

Toast the 6 cups of bread cubes for 10 – 15 minutes in a 325 degree oven until golden. Transfer toasted cubes into a large bowl.

In a skillet, sauté the sausage, until brown. Drain grease and transfer it the bread bowl.

In the same skillet, using 1 stick of butter, sauté all of the vegetables for 10 minutes, until soft. Remove vegetables and place in bowl.

Now, in your bowl, combine the sausage, vegetables, cherries breadcrumbs and the rest of the ingredients EXCEPT for the chicken stock. Mix the ingredients until well combined. Now add just enough chicken stock to moisten the bread mixture. You do not want it soaking wet.

If packing the turkey, stuff the neck and cavity loosely with stuffing, folding the neck skin under and fastening with a skewer. If not, lightly pack stuffing into a large, shallow stoneware-baking dish.

If you bake the stuffing inside the bird, roast the bird at 325 degrees for 15 minutes per pound, or until the temperature of the bird reaches 180 degrees and the juices run clear when thigh is pierced with fork. * If you back in a separate dish, drizzle the stuffing with a little bit of stock (do not soak). Cover and bake at 325 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 10 minutes.

Apple Walnut Stuffing

• 1/3 cup butter or margarine
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
• 1 cup chopped red baking apple
• 1 cup chopped green cooking apple
• 2 cups soft bread cubes or whole wheat bread cubes, toasted
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 2 tablespoons dried whole-leaf sage
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions for Apple Walnut Stuffing

Melt butter in a small skillet over medium-high heat; add onion and celery, and cook, stirring constantly, until tender. Combine apples, bread cubes, and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl; stir in vegetable mixture, egg, and remaining ingredients.

Spoon into a lightly greased 11x7x1 1/2-inch baking dish and bake at 350* for 30 minutes.

Yield: 6 servings (4 1/2 cups).

Celery Turkey Stuffing

• 2 cups diced celery, with leaves
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 1/2 cup butter
• 4 quarts bread cubes
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon sage
• 1 pinch dried thyme

How to make Celery Stuffing

Melt butter in saucepan. Saute onion in melted butter until soft, but not brown. Add celery and stir well. Add 2 cups bouillon mixture. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Place bread cubes into large mixing bowl. Add eggs, salt, pepper, sage, thyme and marjoram. Add onion and celery mixture. Combine thoroughly. If still too dry, add more chicken broth. Makes enough to stuff a 10 to 15 pound turkey.

To bake dressing out of the turkey, place in a buttered baking dish, and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes or until the top is lightly browned. More broth may be needed for this method to keep it from drying out.

Oyster Stuffing

• 1 lb bread, including crusts (10 cups packed and cubed)
• 1 pint oyster, raw
• 4-8 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup celery, finely chopped
• 2 cups onions, chopped
• 1/4-1/2 cup fresh parsley, minced
• 1 tablespoon sage, minced
• 1 tablespoon thyme, minced
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, ground
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated
• 1/8 teaspoon clove, ground
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 2 large eggs, well beaten (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400, and toast the bread until golden brown on the middle rack. turn into a large bowl. Meanwhile heat butter until melted and foam subsides. add onions and celery and cook about 5 min until tender. Remove from heat and stir in the spices.

Stir in the bread cubes, and drained oysters and toss well, until the stuffing is moist, but not packed together, stir in the stock and eggs. put in bird while moist, remoisten and adjust spices as necessary.  If cooked in a casserole dish at 350 until heated through with a crust on the outsides, 25 to 40 min.

Oyster juice may be used in place of some of the stock.

Sausage Turkey Stuffing

• 1 lb. bulk sausage, mild or sage flavor
• 2 c. chopped onion
• 1 c. chopped celery
• 2 tsp. rubbed sage (if using mild sausage)
• 1 tsp. marjoram
• 10 c. dry bread cubes
• 1/3 c. chopped fresh parsley
• 2 c. chicken broth
• 2 TBS. butter
• Salt & pepper to taste

Directions for Sausage Turkey Stuffing

Brown & crumble sausage in skillet. Remove & drain off grease.

Cook onion & celery in drippings until tender. Combine sausage, cooked vegetables, sage, marjoram, bread cubes, and parsley in large mixing bowl; blend well.

Stir in chicken broth to moisten (just gradually add it as you may not need the full 2 cups).

Season with salt & pepper and stuff mixture loosely into cleaned cavity & roast along with turkey.

OR, you can make dressing out of it by placing it in a greased 13x9x2″ baking dish. Dot with butter, cover & bake in 350 degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes. Uncover & bake 10 minutes or until golden.

12 Cups or 10 to 12 Servings

Share YOUR Favorite Turkey Stuffing Recipe

Live On Campus or Stay at Home!

The most important thing you could do would be to live on campus.  Living on campus allows you to have a meal plan which means you don’t need to worry about having money to eat.

Don’t Drink EVERY Night!

You will not only suffer in your grades, but you will go broke FAST! Pick your nights carefully that way you do not end up spending money every night on alcohol.

If you MUST drink every night…

Drink Cheap Beer

Honestly, it wont hurt you.  Instead of the Coors Light, or Cornona’s, stick with the cheap beer like busch light.  It will end up saving you almost 5 bucks a week.

Buy Food at the Grocery Store – Not Pizza Hut!

If you do live off campus, go grocery shopping! Don’t eat fast food every night, it costs you almost 5 dollars a meal and eating 3 times a day, you could get a weeks worth of grocerys in one days worth of fast food meals.

Nice Car – Don’t Drive It!

Try to take the bus or shuttle to class each day.  Gas prices are ridiculous so theres no need to drive extra places. Of course, if you need to get cheap beer or groceries, its OK, as long as everyone chips in!

Don’t Have a Girlfriend or Boyfriend!

As much as you want on, they are expensive and if you dont have a lot of money, you don’t need a girl or boyfriend sponging off what you do have! Hook up every now and again, its cheaper!

Stay away From Drugs.

Aside from the obvious benefits of this, getting hooked on drugs will do more than just get you high! You will go broke, lose your friends, get kicked out of school… and your parents might not want you back in their home!

Don’t go Home every Weekend.

You dont need to waste money on gas when you can stay up at school use that money for groceries, cheap beer, or to save it.

Eat Ramen Noodles – Try ALL Flavors!

These little noodles are cheap and delicious!  A couple packs will fill you up for less than a dollar, and as long as you try the different flavors, you will feel like you are eating gourmet every day!

Party in a Friends Apartment!

When you live in an apartment you only have a certain amount of electricity you can use each month before you end up paying extra on your rent.  So keep your lights off and TV off when your not watching it! Talk your friends into parties at THEIR apartment versus yours!

These are ten good ways a college student can make a dollar last. What have YOU got to add to the list?

Flu Treatments

10 Ways to Treat a Cold or Flu

Get Plenty of Rest

The more rest you get while you are sick with a cold or flu will help your body use the energy towards fighting the virus. Take a rest under a blanket and try to sweat it out.

Keep Hydrated

Not only should you drink plenty of liquids while you are sick, drinking hot liquids will help relieve nasal congestion. Hot liquids can also help soothe a sore throat and help open up your nasal passages. Sipping hot chicken broth is a great alternative to hot tea or coffee

Steam up the Bathroom and Take a Long Shower

Steam works the same way as hot liquids work. It opens up your nasal passages to relieve stuffy noses. It also helps to hydrate your skin which tends to dry out while you are sick. In addition, a hot shower will relieve achy muscles sometimes caused by cold and flu

Use Hot or Cold Packs on your Sinuses

Your local drugstore will have reusable packs that you can either keep in the freezer or pop in the microwave. Either hot or cold will usually help temporarily relieve congestion and promote better breathing. Even a wet washcloth placed in the freezer or microwave will do the trick if you don’t have (or care to go get) reusable packs.

Prop Yourself Up at Night

Adding an extra pillow under your head will help promote easier breathing and allow the sinuses to drain.

Blow your Nose Often

When sick with a cold or flu, it’s important to blow your nose regularly rather than sniffing it back into your head. Do not blow too hard though, or you can risk earache.

Wash your Hands!

Washing your hands often will help promote quicker healing and also keep others in your home from getting the same thing!

Gargle Several Times a Day

When sick with a cold, the throat tends to dry out and get sore just like your nasal passages do. Gargling with warm salt water several times a day will help to soothe and heal an irritated throat. You could also try gargling with very weak hot tea, or warm water with lemon.

Steam Up your Room with a Humidifier

The mucous membranes of your nose tend to dry when you are sick and are also irritated by blowing. Humidifiers can help by moistening the air with little water droplets. They can also help in the spreading of the flu. The flu virus stays around longer in dry air. By using a humidifier, the water droplets will adhere to virus particles and force them to ground – no longer airborne.

This one is my favorite…

Have a Warm Stiff Drink!

When I was younger and I had a cold, my father would heat up amaretto and put it on vanilla ice cream. The cold of the ice cream and warmth of the alcohol seemed to always make me feel better!  Or, you can try a shot of whiskey – my grandma said that always works!

Do you have other tips for fighting off a cold or flu? Please share them below.

Additional Resources

• Google Influenza Map
• Wikipedia Flu Page
• CDC Flu Center
• Top 5 Ways to Beat the Flu on iVillage

Saving Energy inside your home is one of the cheapest and easiest ways you can start going Green, and also increase the amount of money in your savings account every month! Most of the figures below represent utility and resource use for a family of four

Save Water by Limiting your Time in the Shower!

Fact: A Typical shower of 12-14 minutes uses more than 24-30 Gallons of Water!

Get yourself a small kitchen timer and set it to 3 minutes! I know, not alot of time… but more than enough to rinse, lather, and rinse the soap off again! When the timer goes off, you know you need to get moving and finish your shower!

If you want to go further, install low use shower heads, or even a quick water shut off head, that lets you shut off the water while you soap up your body and shampoo your hair!

Reduce the Amount of Water in Each Flush!

In most homes, the toilet uses more water than any other thing! Older toilets use approximately 3.5 Gallons per Flush! Since the mid nineties, the Govt has regulated that all new toilets MUST be 1.6 GPF (Gallons per flush) You can usually find this inside the lid of your own toilet at home.

If you have the older model, just fill an old 1-gallon milk container with water, and put it into your toilet tank. You will save 1 gallon per flush!

Wear Heavier Clothing and Use Towels Twice between Washings!

Every bathroom has a towel rack… make sure you use each towel twice before tossing it into the laundry basket! Blue jeans, sweatshirts, and other heavier outer clothing items can also be worn more than one time between washings!  Not only will you save on water usage… but your savings on detergent will rise also!

Turn Off Lights when you Leave a Room!

Our fathers used to cuss us out for leaving lights on in a room and we would always say… but I’m coming right back! Guess what, that 3-5 minutes you were gone can significantly add up over the course of a month if everyone in your home does it! Just imagine the annual savings!

None of us would even consider pulling the gas nozzle out of our gas tanks and letting it run, while we ran into the store for a quick minute! Treat electricity the same way!

Turn off your PC at Night!

If you are like most of us, we let our PC manage its own power settings, going into a low power usage mode when not being used. At night, when you know you won’t be using it any longer, turn that sucker off! Even the small LED lights use energy!

Replace your Bulbs with the Newer Compact Fluorescent Bulbs!

Yes, they will cost a bit more out of the gate… but not only will they last 7-10 times LONGER than standard bulbs, they give off much less heat and use less than half the energy to operate!

Start with the rooms you use light in most often. Kitchens, livings rooms, Dining Rooms etc. These are the areas you have the lights on most often and will have the highest impact!

Insulate your Drafty Home on the Cheap!

With winter right in front of us, now is the time to seal any drafts in your doors and windows! We wrote a short article last month on DIY Home Insulation, and the methods outlined in that article can all be done very inexpensively! Along with door and windows, don’t forget to check your attics and crawl spaces for loose and old insulation!!

Turn Down your Thermostat just 1 Degree!

I HATE being cold, and i am sure everyone else does also! By dropping your thermostat from 68 to 67 degrees, you will not only save a great amount on your own energy use, you will reduce your homes carbon footprint and help the environment at the same time!

Put on a sweater… open your curtains and let the sun come in during the daytime!

Install a Programmable Thermostat

So maybe you just don’t want to turn your heat down that 1 degree, what else can you do? Install a Programmable Thermostat that controls the heating and cooling while you are not at home! You can buy one for less than $100, which will pay itself back in the first year of use!

If you go to work every day at 8am – tell the thermostat to drop the temp to 65 from 8am-4pm every day during the heating season! At night, set it to drop to 65 from 11pm to 5am, and throw an extra blanket on your bed! You will never notice the temp changes… except on your lower utility bills!

Lower your Hot Water Tank Temperature to 120 Degrees!

Most hot water tanks are set at 140+ degrees! Your tank, regardless of whether the water is running or not, maintains the water temp so it is always ready for you! By dropping yours to just 120 degrees, you will save a HUGE amount on heating the water when its not in use!

When the time comes to replace your hot water tank, go with one of the newer Tank-less Water Heaters on the market, which only heat the water on demand! They are 80% MORE efficient than current tank models!

The methods above are just a few of the ways you can see immediate savings in your home energy and utility use! What are methods do you use in your own home?

Further Resources and Websites

• Calculate your own Carbon Footprint
• Calculate Home Energy Savings in your Area
• 101 Easy Ways to Save Energy
• Department of Energy Home Savings Guide

Top 10 Halloween Party Drinks you can Make Yourself!

Halloween Party Drinks can give you that extra kick that leaves everyone talking, for weeks after your next big bash! The list below is a great start for anyone looking to spice up their adult party! For an extra kick, head over to the Top 10 DIY Halloween Costumes also!

1 – Flaming Pumpkin Pie Drink Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1.0 tsp. Cinnamon
• 1.0 Part Kahlua Coffee Liqueur
• 1.0 Part Bailey’s Irish Cream
• 1.0 Splash Peppermint Schnapps

How to Make this Drink: Pour in the Kahlua liqueur and then top with Baileys! After that, splash the peppermint schnapps on top.  Light it up and shake cinnamon over the top. To drink it… blow out the flame and turn it up!

2 – Salem Witch Drink Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1.0 fill Club Soda
• 1.0 splash Grenadine
• 1.0 splash Lime juice
• 0.5 oz Melon liqueur
• 0.5 fill Sweet and Sour mix
• 0.5 oz Vodka
• 0.5 oz Raspberry Schnapps

How to Make this Drink: This one is easy… just mix it all together over some crushed ice!

3 – The Green Ghost

• 1.0 oz Blue Curacao
• 1.0 shot Citrus Gin
• 3.0 oz Orange juice
• 1.0 oz Peach Schnapps
• 2.0 shot Vodka

How to Make this Halloween Drink: The Gin MUST be citrus flavored to taste the way it is intended. Pour your OJ over a few cubes of ice and mix in the listed amounts of alcohol! If you want to get a little extra kick out of it, include a shot of the Peach Schnapps with each mixer!

4 – Bloody Brain

• 1/2 oz. Irish Cream (Bailey’s is great)
• 1 1/2 oz. strawberry schnapps
• 1 tbsp. Grenadine

How to Make it: Shake the Grenadine and Schnapps in a cocktail shaker filled with ice.

After 15-20 seconds, strain it into your favorite cocktail glass.

VERY Carefully and slowly add the Bailey’s into the very middle of the glass.

If you take your time and do it right, the Baileys will form into a blob on the bottom! Gross!

5 – Screaming Banana Banshee

• 1/2 oz. Creme de Cacao, white
• 1/2 oz. Liqueur, banana
• 1/2 oz. Vodka
• 1 1/2 oz. Cream
• 1 whole Cherries/Maraschinos

How to Mix this Halloween Drink: Combine all listed amounts, except the cherry, into a cocktail shaker with ice.  Shake for 15-20 seconds and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Pop the cherry on top and you are ready to drink!

6 – Bloody Eyeball Martini

• 2 oz gin or vodka
• 1/2 oz dry vermouth
• 1 olive eyeball
  • per eyeball:
  • 1 radish
  • 1 pimiento stuffed green olive

The Eyeballs for this mixer should be made at least 1 day before your plan on using them.

How to mix it up:

1. Peel radishes, leaving thin streaks of red skin on to represent blood vessels.
2. Using the tip of the vegetable peeler or a small, knife, carefully scoop out a small hole in each radish, roughly the size of an olive.
3. Stuff a green olive, pimiento side out, in each hole.
4. Place 1 radish eyeball in each section of an empty ice cube tray. Pare the radishes down a bit to fit, if necessary. Fill the tray with water and freeze overnight.

7 -Vampire Juice Recipe

• 1 ounce coconut flavor rum
• 1 ounce blue curacao
• 1 ounce bacardi limon rum
• 8 ounces orange juice
• 3 crushed ice cubes

How to mix it: Combine the coconut rum, curacao, and limon rum into a shaker with the ice and OJ. Shake it up to chill and strain into a tall glass.

8 – The Headless Barman

• 1 oz. Sour Raspberry Pucker
• 1 1/2 oz. Vodka, lemon
• Fill with, 1/2 Energy Drink
• Fill with, 1/2 Mountain Dew
• 2 oz. Pineapple Juice

Preparing this Halloween Party Drink: Add the Pucker, 1.5 oz Vodka, and Chilled Pineapple juice to a Half-Full glass of ice. Stir it slowly and top it up with a Red Bull energy drink and Mountain Dew.

9 – Transylvania Ice Tea

• 1/2 oz. Gin
• 1/2 oz. Liqueur, raspberry (Razzmatazz)
• 1/2 oz. Rum, light
• 1/2 oz. Tequila, white
• 1/2 oz. Vodka
• Mason Jars

Make this one: Fill your mason jars with ice first, then mix in 1/4 Cranberry Juice and 1/4 Sour Mix and start adding the alcohol!

10 – Writhing Maggot Shots

• 1/3 shot Irish Cream (Bailey’s)
• 1/3 shot Mandarin Napoleon
• 1/3 shot Vermouth, sweet

Build this SLOWLY into a shot glass…  and shoot it up! It turns into a disgusting congealed mess that is sure to run a few stomachs!

This is just a small list of drinks for your next Halloween party – Do you have any that you pull out every year? Drop down to the comments and tell us about your Halloween Party Drinks!

For more great drink ideas – Check out these other sites:

• Fine art of Mixing Drinks
• Adult Halloween Party Drinks
• Halloween Drinks and Cocktail Recipes
• Killer Halloween Cocktails!

Face it, Halloween Costumes are fun! We get the chance to show a hidden side of our personalities and get dressed up in something we would not normally wear in public! The bad part, is when the phone rings 2 days before Halloween or even on the day itself, and you get the invite to a party… with no idea what to wear!

Top 10 Do it Yourself Halloween Costumes!

The list below represents the quickest and easiest ways to get yourself ready for the big party, with little to short notice! Just about all of them work for a man or woman, so open your imagination and get started! If you prefer to buy a costume, click here and get free shipping today!

1 – Spam Man Costume!

This one is easy… but you have to be willing to bother the hell out of people all night long! Dress fairly nicely in a suit or khakis and a blazer, print off about 100 pieces of junk mail and tape them all over yourself! All night long, just keep on walking up to people and hand them one of the mail pieces and start talking about it!

2 – Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson has had so many looks, regardless of who you are… you can pull it off! Grease your hair down with Gel, or heck, load it up and curl it out! He’s done both… Take some white makeup and make your face completely white. Top it off with just a little red lipstick and put on all black clothing! Make sure you have 1 white glove to complete the look and you have it made!

If you really want to get risky and get some great laughs, find a way to incorporate some kids gimmick into it, playing off his neverland ranch problems. Give away lollipops, candy etc.

3 – Rapper Costume

What can you say… get some baggy clothes, an oversize shirt, and grab the bling from all over your house! I did this myself 2-3 years ago… I took the knocker off the front door of the house and hung it around my neck with a dog chain! A little tin foil for a grill… and i was all set! Top it off with a ballcap turned to the side and you are out the door in 10 minutes!

4 – The Unknown Comic

Possibly the easiest of all Do it yourself costumes! Get yourself a brown paperbag, cut out a couple eyeholes and a small hole for you breath through, put on a suit or a blazer! You are done!

For those of you who don’t know, the Unknown Comic was a feature of the Gong Show back in the late 70′s and early 80′s. His jokes were some of the stupidest out there, so gather up some dumb jokes and head out for the night!

5 - Roman Costume

Another one of those last minute costumes you can throw together in 5 minutes and be out the door! All you need is a white sheet to make into a toga and a small branch off a tree in your yard! Wrap the toga around you and make sure you wear some interesting boxers or panties underneath, people will be looking all night! Take the branch and form it into a circular crown for your head… Quick, easy and Done!

6 - Mammagram Machine

Probably one of the funnest Halloween costumes for a man or a risque woman! Get yourself a small cardboard box and cut the bottom so it rests perfectly onto your shoulders with your head on the inside!

Wrap the inside and out with tin foil to make it nice and shiny and look somewhat like a piece of medical equipment. Write FREE Mammograms in big bold letters on the top front and something like “No Insurance Required” on the bottom. Top it off with a pair of rubber gloves on your hands and get ready for a fun night!

7 - Homeless Person

Run over to your local best buy superstore or large hardware store like Lowes or Home Depot and grab one of the recently delivered washing machine or refrigerator boxes. Cut off enough so that you can still read the name on it and just write the word “Condo” behind it… “GE Condos” Layer as many old torn up clothes as you can handle and run out the door. Make sure you carry a change cup and ask people for change all night long!

8 - Paris Hilton Party Girl

Everyone likes a party girl right? Chances are good all of us has seen the party girl outfit at a Halloween party at least once in our lives! If you are a man and try this… you may get attention you didn’t want, but women on the other hand… can pull this off with little effort! Wide variety of Sexy costumes at discounted prices – Shop Costume Discounter today!

Grab your shortest miniskirt, your tightest top and deck yourself out! Find the oldest stockings or hose you have and just tear a few holes in them to make it all the more tempting. Don’t leave out your heels… If you have a dog collar, put it around your neck and attach a short leash to it… invite the cute guys to carry your chain all night long!

9 – A Dirty Male Flasher

This costume can be fun as hell, but make sure you only wear it at adult parties! Grab a long trenchcoat, a pair of old dress pants and 1 leg of an old pair of stockings! Cut the pant legs from the knee down and tape them to your legs so they look like a full pair of pants when you have the trenchcoat on. Stuff the leg of the stocking with old socks and shape it like… well, you know! Attach it to a pair of boxers and just let it hang down!

Every time you walk up on someone… swing that coat open for instant laughs!

10 – Sarah Palin Costume!

Since we are in the midst of an election year, why not dress up like Sarah Palin for Halloween! You can go in all different directions for this one… a Dirty Sarah Palin, with a twist on #8 above by wearing a short and tight business suit, or a Hunter Sarah Palin… where you don camouflage gear and a fake rifle!

All you really need to make this work are the Sarah Palin glasses and some bright red lipstick! You Will be the hit of the party!

Do you have some other DIY Halloween Costumes you want to add to the list? Leave a comment below…

Mark